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The MA Archaeology and Heritage of Egypt and the Middle East provides a unique opportunity to study Egypt and the Middle East in a truly comparative context.
Degree co-ordinator: Claudia Naeser
Other major contributors: Stephen Quirke and David Wengrow
UCL’s wide range of archaeological expertise in the study Egypt of and the Middle East in a truly comparative context, enables students to develop a programme and research dissertation tailored to their individual interests. These may include the application of new skills in archaeological science, exploring new theoretical perspectives, or the significance of archaeology for the wider cultural heritage of these regions.
Please note that this degree is only available on a full time basis for entry in 2024/25.
Degree Handbook
Modules
The degree is available either full-time over one academic year or part-time over two academic years, commencing September. It comprises three core modules worth 15 credits each, and two or three option modules totalling a further 45 credits, chosen by the student in consultation with the degree coordinator. Additionally, a dissertation of 15,000 words is prepared on a germane topic, with guidance from an assigned supervisor. Throughout the year, students discuss their progress individually with a personal tutor.
Core Modules
All students must take the following:
- Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East: a Comparative Approach (ARCL0157; 15 credits; 11 weeks)
- Heritage Ethics and Archaeological Practice in the Middle East and Mediterranean (ARCL0199; 15 credits; 11 weeks)
- Themes, Thought and Theory in World Archaeology: Foundations (ARCL0133; 15 credits; 11weeks)
Option Modules
From an outstanding range of Master course options, students choose options worth 45 units of credit (usually three 15-credit courses). At least 30 credits derive from the list below of option modules recommended for this degree programme. The remaining 15 credits may also come from this list or from amongst an outstanding range of other Masters modules offered at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. Subject to approval by the degree coordinator, modules may also be taken at other UCL departments, the School of Oriental and African Studies, and King's College London. All modules are subject to availability and resources (please note not all modules are available every year).
- Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age in the Near East: City-states and Empires (ARCL0200, 5 credits, 11 weeks)
- Themes and Debates in Islamic Archaeology and Heritage (ARCL0178, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- Coptic Language and Culture (ARCL0082, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Language (ARCL0159, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- Old and Middle Egyptian Texts (ARCL0080, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- Themes and Debates in Egyptian Archaeology (ARCL0147, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- Aegean Prehistory: major thThe Neolithic and Early Bronze Age of the Near East: The emergence of villages and urban societies (ARCL0151, 15 credits, 11 weeks) emes and current debates (ARCL0135, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- The Mediterranean: World in the Iron Age (ARCL0138, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- Archaeology of the Silk Roads (ARCL210, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- Archaeologies of Asia (ARCL0152, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
- Introductory Akkadian (by arrangement with Hebrew and Jewish Studies, 30 credits, 22 weeks). Note this course runs alternate years; please contact the Degree Co-ordinator regarding availability
- Introductory Hittite (by arrangement with Greek and Latin, 30 credits, 22 weeks). Note this course runs alternate years; please contact the Degree Co-ordinator regarding availability
Subject to availability, students on this course may also take options in ancient Near Eastern topics in UCL's History Department.
Dissertation
A dissertation of 15,000 words (90 credits) will be prepared by the student on a suitable topic, resulting from individual, in-depth research with guidance from an assigned supervisor.
Examples of past projects include:
- an archaeological interpretation of state religion in Amarna Period Egypt
- microscopic analysis of ceramics from Shalfak, a Middle Kingdom fort in Nubia
- Early Dynastic cylinder seals of the Diyala Region (Iraq): a contextual study
- the spread of protective imagery in the Neo-Assyrian Empire: perspectives from archaeology, art history and cognitive anthropology
the significance of the Neolithic period in modern Kurdish concepts of heritage, with particular attention to women's rights